![]() The Ethiopian kingdom was unusual because the Orthodox Christian church, which was of ancient origin in that region, had increasingly important state functions. In many areas these beliefs remained traditional and stressed the importance of communing with common ancestors. As a consequence there was also a diversity of religious and philosophical beliefs. In such societies there were generally more democratic systems of government by councils of elders and other kinship and age based institutions. In many part of the continent no major centralised states existed and many people lived in societies where there were no great divisions of wealth and power. The existence of great kingdoms and empires, such as Mali in the west and Ethiopia in the east were in many ways exceptional rather than typical. Indeed it was the wealth of West Africa, especially as a source of gold, that encouraged the voyages of the early European explorers.īy the 15th century the African continent was already one of great of diversity. It was gold from the great empires of West Africa, such as Ghana, Mali and Songhay, which provided the means for the economic take off of Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries and aroused the interest of Europeans in western Africa. This Muslim invasion re-introduced much of the knowledge of the ancient world to Europe and linked it much more closely with North and West Africa. Certainly some African states had established important trading relations with India, China and other parts of Asia long before these were disrupted by European intervention.Ī North African conquest of the Iberian peninsular began in the 8th century and led to the occupation of much of Spain and Portugal for several centuries. In this early period Africans participated in extensive international trading networks and in trans-oceanic travel. Some of the world’s other great civilisations, such as Kush, Axum, Mali, and Great Zimbabwe, flourished in Africa in the years before 1500. The African continent continued on its own path of development, without significant external intervention until the fifteenth century of our era. ![]() This demonstrates that economic and political development, as well as scientific development was, during this early period, perhaps more advanced in Africa than in other continents. Africa can therefore be credited not only with giving rise to the many scientific developments associated with Egypt, engineering, mathematics, architecture, medicine etc but also with important early political developments such as state formation and monarchy. This may well have been the earliest state to exist anywhere in the world. However, even before the rise of Kemet it seems likely that an even more ancient kingdom, known as Ta Seti, existed in what is today Nubia in Sudan. We still marvel at the great achievements of Kemet, or Ancient Egypt, for example, one of the most notable of the early African civilizations, which first developed in the Nile valley over 5000 years ago. The African continent is now recognised as the birthplace of humanity and the cradle of civilization. This was done with various rituals and prayers, offerings, and sometimes even human sacrifices.Africa before Transatlantic Enslavement - Black History Month 2024 It was therefore very important to make sure that Shang Ti was happy. The souls of ancestors, it was thought, visited with Shang Ti and received their instructions from him. In addition, the god worshipped by everyone during the Shang dynasty was Shang Ti, the "lord on high." Shang Ti was believed to be the link between people and heavenly beings. If the spirits were not pleased however, great tragedies could occur. ![]() If the ancestors of a family were pleased, life for that family would be prosperous. ![]() It was thought that the success of crops and the health and well being of people were based on the happiness of dead ancestors. Folk religion during the Shang dynasty was polytheistic, meaning the people worshipped many gods.Īncestor worship was also very important to the Shang. The major philosophies to later shape China - Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism - had not yet been formed.
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